Warp Speed Combat

[shipfisher]

FTL phasers are no harder to rationalize than subspace radio if both are just energy transmissions, though one is a tad nastier than the other. Those rapid nadions can be imbued with any quality required for the story lines involved. Navigational deflectors kick gravitons out ahead of ships at warp within what I believe has been termed a "subspace trench" (from the TNG tech manual I think...). Perhaps any FTL beams involving particles with mass could utilize something similar, or maybe some "soliton wave-rider" gizmo.

I think the standard model of the photorp would be kept as simple as possible for the vast majority of the engagements we've seen in Trek. Doesn't the TNG tech manual depict a warp sustainer propulsion unit powered by a simple "sarium krellide" (or some such - wish I'd kept that book) battery? This would be more than ample for an intercept lasting a few seconds at most.

As with long range sensor probes (or casings for klingons needing a cheap ride), fully warp capable torpedo weapons would be available, but held in reserve for situations requiring them, such as a sublight ship firing at a warp target. There would be an evolution over time, with, for example, the original ENT era "photonic torpedos" perhaps being impulse only, warp sustainer models deployed by the TOS era and full warp versions supplementing them by TNG.

 

[Picard578]

In "The Wounded" it wasn't spelled out what weapon the Cardassian warship fired at the Phoenix with. When the Phoenix fires its torpedoes at the Cardassian warship it is from approx 275,000 km (and inside the Cardassian's weapons range). Interestingly, the Cardassian ship appeared to slightly outrange the Phoenix!

We're never shown exactly what each range circle means though. The Phoenix has 3 equally spaced circles while the Cardassian's seemed to be clumped at the outer edge of 300,000km.

I remember phaser ranges from TOS: 90,000km in "The Tholian Web" and that 0.04ly was too far in "Obsession". TNG, etc I'm not as familiar with (other than "The Wounded").

Actually, from display it seemed like Phoenix' weapons range was 225 000 km and warship's 275 000 km.

 

[Silvercrest]

Photon torpedoes have a "warp sustainer" component. It's seen in the cutaways in the tech manuals.

Right, right. They store those in the ship next to the Heisenberg Compensators.

And they're secured in the torpedoes with stembolts.

 

[blssdwlf]

^^Very True. On a third look, if you step frame it with the dialogue, Data announces 300,000km before the warship's outer circle touches the Phoenix. Well spotted!

 

[Belisarius]

What's even more impressive is being able to hit a target at warp, at extreme range, travelling in two completely different directions within 3D space (and, very likely, at different supralight velocities). With either energy weapons or projectiles. Serious computing power, there.


~Belisarius
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